Mercedes have learned a lot about how to handle two drivers going for a championship and the plan is always to let them race within the mindset the team always comes first, says boss Toto Wolff.
Kimi Antonelli and team mate George Russell have won all three of the Grands Prix so far this season, with the former leading the championship having followed up a maiden win in China with victory in Japan.
Mercedes – who lead the Teams’ Championship by 45 points from Ferrari – have vast experience of dealing with two drivers fighting for a championship with Lewis Hamilton going head-to-head with Nico Rosberg near exclusively between 2014 and 2016.
Wolff is confident that his drivers know what it means to drive for Mercedes and therefore know that their individual interests will never be greater than that of the team.
“The oddity in Formula 1 is that the two team mates are also the biggest competitors,” he said. “We have learned a lot over the last 10 plus years in how to best handle these situations. But best handle means also letting them race and acknowledging the fact that they race.
“There are certain values that we stand for in the team. The team is always bigger than the drivers. It is Mercedes, one of the most formidable brands in the world, the best car brand in the world.
“We race for 150,000 people that work for us, a company that exists for more than 120 years. Having the opportunity to race to be one of the few selected racers for Mercedes also comes with a responsibility.
“The moment the driver feels like this is all about him, that’s not the mindset that we would ever allow, except in the team – and we’ve done that in the past.
“I would rather have only one car driving if that wasn’t clear but I think it will never come to that point because our drivers, they’ve been so long in the Mercedes family that they are part of that mindset and this philosophical approach and the legacy that they represent.”
Antonelli’s trajectory
After an encouraging rookie campaign in 2025, Antonelli has levelled up and made the most of a fast Mercedes to finish inside the top two at every Grand Prix so far this season and lead the championship by nine points from his more experienced team mate Russell.
Russell has been hampered by unreliability and, in Japan, he lost out with the timing of the Safety Car – but Antonelli has taken all of the chances laid out in front of him, and is delivering as Mercedes hoped he would.
“Bearing in mind his age, and his relative lack of experience, it would take at least a season to find his feet and that’s happening,” said Wolff. “But at the same time, [we are] not expecting now an all-year miracle.
“We’ve seen some very good racing [from him] so far this season – and fewer mistakes. He’s benefited from certain racing outcome strategies – Safety Cars – but that’s going to swing both directions. That goes for you, that goes against you all year. So he’s on the trajectory that we were hoping that he has.”
When Wolff was asked how he could help Antonelli maintain the momentum for the rest of the season, starting at the next race in Miami, Wolff said: “It just continues. We just need to continue to be authentic in our relationship with him. When it’s good, it’s good and say that. And when it’s bad, it’s bad and say that.
“He doesn’t need to justify anymore to us that he hasn’t got the speed or hasn’t got the ability or hasn’t got the right character. Now it’s just a matter of more experience and it’s something that comes over time.
“Sometimes it’s putting the arm around him and sometimes it’s saying you need to improve in that area. I think we just continue what we’ve done and hope that’s going to yield great performances and outcomes.”
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